A new store has opened in Hurst for people who like to collect small plastic objects. It's called Gashapon Bandai Official Shop, and it's now open at the North East Mall, at 1101 Melbourne Rd., where it sells "capsule toys" — miniature plastic toys packaged in clear plastic capsules.
Gashapon is a type of vending machine that dispenses capsule toys. The concept is popular in Japan, with machines found in various locations like train stations, arcades, and convenience stores. (The name "Gashapon" is derived from the sounds of turning the handle ("gasha") and the capsule dropping ("pon").
The toys inside Gashapon capsules can be characters from cultural realms like manga, video games, or Japanese anime franchises. Or coasters, or food miniatures, or charms you attach to your purse or notebook, or little animal figures, or little whimsical animal figures, or little statues, or an assortment of little plastic hats, or a quartet of tiny jewelry stands in pastel colors (buy them all!).
You buy tokens for $2 to $2.50 each and most machines require 2 to 4 tokens each.
Rows of vending machines at a Gashapon store. Gashapon
The idea of capsule toys — coin-operated vending machines — actually originated in the U.S. in 1907 along with bubble-gum machines. Japan embraced it in the 1960s, and the Gashapon chain was launched in Japan in 1977.
The first U.S. Gashapon Bandai Official Shop opened in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo district in February 2023.
The entire thing is driven by collector frenzy. The toys are produced in limited quantities, and in sets, which encourages customers to acquire every member of the set.
And then customers do not know what they will get until they turn the vending machine handle — not unlike slot machines. It's like gambling. Or as Gashapon says it more delicately, "The element of surprise brings excitement during the purchase and gets everyone hooked!" … furthering the frenzy even further.
Hurst makes the fourth location in Texas; following Grapevine Mills Mall and Houston, which opened in 2024, and Mitsuwa Marketplace in Plano which opened in 2023 (There's also a kiosk at Grapevine Mills Mall.) They're also opening a location at Firewheel Town Center in Garland in June 2025.
